What can you tell us about the star bases that are at the hearts of the expansion and why are they a help to players of the original game?

Eclipsing every unit of the original game, the Starbase commands a hell of a lot of attention, and for a very good reason. Starbases will provide an unparalleled advantage for fortifying a gravity well. They can be upgraded individually with a multitude of possible upgrade types, several unique to each faction. Upgrades include powerful new weapons, structural improvements, squadron capacity, frigate/cruiser construction, trade port functionality, and area of effect benefits for nearby units just to name a few.

Unlike planets and capital ships, you will need to make hard choices in how you customize your starbase. You will only have a limited number of upgrades per unit, so you can choose to specialize or go more general. While some of the starbase functions may sound familiar the gameplay ramifications will be entirely new. Specialized cruisers will be able to deploy starbases in ANY gravity well. This includes all non-colonizable nodes, stars, and even enemy planets!

What other features can we expect to see in the first micro-expansion?

The first micro expansion will be jam packed with new features that will exaggerate the racial differences and alter gameplay dramatically. To start, each race will have a unique way of creating mine fields to hinder and endanger the movement of enemy forces. Mines will be completely hidden until detected by ships. Ships in general will have poor detection ranges. You'll need to rely more on your scouts for advanced warning throughout the course of game.

Next up, all races will receive unique defensive structure improvements. The TEC guass turret, for example, will feature two weapon upgrades: 1) The Meson bolt cannon – an extreme range sniper that will provide a deadly counter to heavy cruiser spamming. 2) Burst rockets – a volley of missiles that can target up to four units at once at short range. The TEC hangar defense will also feature an upgrade - flak turrets. Hangar placement will now have a much greater tactical significance and the flak turrets will offer a strong counter to bomber spamming.

In order to offset the great defensive powers players will now hold we've decided to add unique anti-structure capabilities for each race. For the TEC this will take shape as a new assault cruiser loaded with slow, long range, high damage torpedoes. The Advent and Vasari will have their own unique means of performing this role.

There will also be many new planet bonuses to compliment starbase occupation in non-colonizable areas. Other miscellaneous features include a new set of artifacts, a new skybox, new effects, and more. One of the most interesting graphical features you'll notice are actual 3D upgrades represented on defensive units, including starbases.

Any hints about what will be put into the second and third micro-expansions?

While the first expansion focuses heavily on combat and new units, the second expansion will focus primarily on the non-combat functions of the game, particularly diplomacy. We feel there is great potential for highly interactive diplomatic gameplay for both single-player and multi-player. The third expansion will remain a secret until the second expansion is well underway.